


for the love of bread

by magnificentbirb



Category: GOT7
Genre: Because Free Panera, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, yep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-11
Updated: 2018-02-11
Packaged: 2019-03-17 01:32:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13648644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magnificentbirb/pseuds/magnificentbirb
Summary: Jackson slams the flier down on Mark’s desk hard enough to knock over Mark’s pencil holder, spilling pens and scissors onto the floor.“We have to get engaged.”





	for the love of bread

**Author's Note:**

> 100% inspired by Panera's new [Valentine's Day sweepstakes](https://twitter.com/panerabread/status/961970453483896832?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet), because honestly, i can't even make this up.
> 
> also i don't believe South Korea has Paneras...? so this is somewhere in the States, and sometimes people are still referred to as hyung, bc i'm tired and it's weird to think of Yugyeom not calling people hyung.
> 
> enjoy!

Jackson slams the flier down on Mark’s desk hard enough to knock over Mark’s pencil holder, spilling pens and scissors onto the floor. Mark opens his mouth to scold him for making a mess, but then Jackson says:

“We have to get engaged.”

Mark blinks at him.

“We have to—I’m sorry, what now?” Mark says.

“We have to get engaged,” Jackson repeats. He jabs a finger at the flier on Mark’s desk. “Panera is offering free catering for any weddings where the couple got engaged at a Panera. We gotta do it.”

“But… we’re not getting married.”

“Of course we’re not getting married, that’s not the point. The _point_ is—” Jackson lifts up the flier and holds it out right in front of Mark’s nose. “—free Panera.”

Mark finally reads the flier, leaning back slightly so his eyes aren’t crossed as he scans the text. Sure enough, it’s a flier from Panera, claiming that five lucky couples who can prove that they got engaged at a Panera on Valentine’s Day can enter for a chance to win free catering, courtesy of (of course) Panera, on their wedding day.

“That’s ridiculous,” Mark says. “It’s not even a guarantee.”

“Yeah, but how many people do you think are honestly going to propose at Panera for real?” Jackson says. “We should at least give it a try.”

“What would we even do if we won?” Mark turns back to his computer, scrolling through his inbox for the email he’d been looking for before Jackson interrupted. “I’m not planning a wedding just so you can get some free bread bowls.”

“It could be a small wedding,” Jackson says. “Barely a wedding. Mostly a reception. We won’t even have a ceremony, they’d never know. It would basically just be a party with free Panera and tuxedos.” Jackson perches on the side of Mark’s desk, fixing him with his best puppy eyes. Mark tries very hard not to look at them directly; he knows their effect. “C’mon, Markie-pooh. Please? Just give it a try? For me?”

Mark can feel a headache forming somewhere above his right eye.

“Why are you asking me, anyway?” he asks. “BamBam seems like a better fit for this kind of scheme.”

“Bam can’t act to save his life,” Jackson says. “And before you suggest Jaebum or Jinyoung, you know they wouldn’t approve. And Youngjae doesn’t like Panera, and Yugyeom will be out of the country.” Jackson clasps his hands together, crumpling the flier between his palms. “Please?”

Mark sighs, clicking his mouse a bit harder than intended to delete an email. “What would I have to do?”

Jackson’s entire face lights up. “Just show up at the Panera down the street at noon on Valentine’s Day and look surprised when I get down on one knee.” Jackson gets to his feet with a triumphant crow of laughter, then leans down to hug Mark around his shoulders and place a loud kiss on his temple. “Thank you! You won’t have to do anything other than be there, I swear. You’re the best, Mark!”

“Mm-hm.” Mark gently extricates himself from Jackson’s embrace and nudges him towards the door. “If we get caught faking this, I’m blaming it entirely on you.”

“That’s fair,” Jackson says, heading for the door. “Just remember to act surprised, okay? Oh!” He pauses on the threshold, grinning over his shoulder. “And remember to say yes.” Then he winks and slips out the door, leaving Mark to stare after him, feeling exasperated and oddly flushed.

*

Valentine’s Day at Panera is busier than Mark expected. It’s chilly out, and he’s bundled up in a thick coat and scarf, face half hidden, but he still hesitates outside the front door of the Panera, his stomach twisting when he sees all of the people inside, laughing over drinks and sandwiches and soup. This is a stupid plan, he _knows_ it is, because how the heck can he and Jackson pull off a believable engagement in front of all of these strangers? But Jackson seemed so confident, and Mark promised to show up, so he couldn’t really back out now.

With a sigh, he enters the restaurant. The heat hits him in a wave, and he starts unwrapping his scarf, his eyes automatically drawn to the large menus above the counter. He might as well get lunch while he’s here.

“Mark!” Jackson sidles up beside him, beaming, nose and cheeks pink from the cold, and wraps an arm around Mark’s waist. Mark is about to step away, but then he remembers why they’re there.

_Act like a couple_ , he tells himself. _For Jackson._ So he doesn’t pull away, and instead leans slightly into Jackson’s side, trying to appear casual, like this is an everyday occurrence for them.

Jackson looks a little surprised, but then his smile just gets wider. He squeezes Mark’s waist and places a brief, soft kiss on his cheek.

“Let’s get some lunch.”

Mark lets Jackson steer them into line, and only speaks when Jackson asks him what he wants ( _broccoli cheddar bread bowl, with a baguette as the side, because honestly, why else would you go to Panera?_ ). The cashier looks tired, but her eyes catch on Jackson’s arm around Mark’s waist, and she smiles slightly when Jackson refuses to let Mark pay for his own meal, and Mark wonders if she’s been told to keep an eye out for couples that might be likely to propose because of the contest. Before he can think too much into it, they collect their drinks and head for an empty table near the windows.

Jackson leans across the table, keeping his voice low. “See, that’s why I couldn’t ask BamBam to do this,” he whispers. “He would’ve started giggling as soon as I touched him.”

“You’re lucky to have me,” Mark deadpans in a sotto voice, and Jackson grins.

“I am indeed.”

Their buzzer goes off after a few minutes, and Jackson volunteers to grab their lunch. Mark watches him go, threading gracefully through the crowds towards the counter, and starts to feel downright nervous. He can’t tell whether it’s because he’s afraid of being caught, or just the anticipation of an upcoming performance. Mark is not an actor—he’s an IT specialist, one of the most behind-the-scenes jobs there is—so he’s not used to having nerves before this kind of scene, especially not when there are strangers everywhere who will surely be watching as soon as Jackson decides to go for it.

He also has no idea exactly what Jackson is planning, or when he’ll do the deed. Will he wait until they’re done eating? Will he spring it on Mark as soon as he gets back to the table with their food? Is it going to be a huge, cinematic ordeal, or just a simple question asked on one knee? And why is Mark’s heart fluttering at the idea of either prospect?

Jackson comes back to the table and plops the food carefully down in front of Mark.

“You okay?” Jackson asks, sliding into the seat across from Mark, already reaching for his sandwich.

“Fine,” Mark says, dragging his plate closer.

“You don’t have to be nervous, you know,” Jackson says, barely louder than a whisper. “Worst case scenario is we don’t win.”

Actually, Mark thinks, the worst case scenario would be if they do win, and then are forced to plan a semi-believable fake reception for their free Panera, but they can deal with that if it happens.

They eat mostly in silence, Jackson commenting once in a while on something that happened that morning at work, or what he thought Yugyeom was getting up to in Canada, or how he wished his sandwich had more ham. Mark realizes after a while that Jackson seems to be nervous, too, and he can’t tell whether it’s all an elaborate act to appear more genuinely like a man who is about to propose to the love of his life, or if it’s just pre-subterfuge jitters.

Mark is still anxiously tearing bits off of his empty bread bowl when Jackson finally takes a deep breath, meets Mark’s gaze, and then slides out of the booth and onto one knee, reaching into the inner pocket of his jacket.

Mark stares at him, wide-eyed, the world going a bit slow and muted around him. He hears some girls in the next booth over whispering to each other, probably pointing at the crazy dude about to propose in a Panera. The tired cashier is craning her neck to watch them, slowly raising her phone, ready to record the scene, probably in case her bosses ask for proof.

And then Mark realizes that Jackson is holding out an open ring box and speaking, seemingly one hundred percent earnest: “—for a while now. And I know it probably seems weird and cheesy to do this here, on Valentine’s Day, for some weird promotion, but… this is where we had our first date.” ( _That’s actually true_ , Mark thinks, remembering back to their first week of work, when neither of them knew anyone and Jackson knocked on his office door and proposed they grab a quick lunch together at the soup-and-sandwich chain down the street.) “So it’s not totally off, right? And we could always use the help paying for the wedding, I know we’ve talked about it before, so please don’t hate me for doing this, I just… I figured I’d try.” Jackson pauses to clear his throat, and are those actual tears in his eyes? Mark is impressed with his acting ability. “So… after six years of you making me one of the happiest men in the world… Mark Tuan, will you marry me?” 

And here Jackson stops, and Mark waits for a few awkward seconds for him to continue, but then he realizes, wait, no, now it’s his turn to hold up his end of the deal.

He closes his gaping mouth and glances at the other patrons, all watching them with mixed expressions of fondness and disbelief. He lets out a nervous little laugh, and then lets himself smile, trying to force as much fond exasperation into the expression as possible, and it’s strangely not a hard act to put on.

“Yeah, you idiot,” he says, and one girl at the next table actually lets out a triumphant hoot.

Jackson’s entire face lights up, and Mark wonders how he does that, how he’s managed to completely immerse himself in this stupid charade, but then Jackson is standing and taking Mark’s hand and tugging him out of the booth and into a firm hug, and Mark can’t help but hug him back, because people are clapping now, and the girls in the next booth over are hollering and quite possibly taking pictures, and then Mark decides that no, to hell with it, he’s not going to let Jackson beat him at this game, so he pulls back and cups Jackson’s jaw in his hands and places a firm, close-mouthed kiss on Jackson’s lips.

Jackson freezes for a second, clearly caught off guard, but then his shoulders shake a bit, and Mark can tell that he’s trying not to laugh. Jackson lifts a hand to the back of Mark’s neck and tilts his head, deepening the kiss, and Mark feels his stomach swoop, because it’s been too long since he’s been kissed, and especially too long since he’s been kissed like _this_ , and he loses himself in it for just a moment, lets himself relax into Jackson’s arms, warm and close.

And then Jackson pulls away, his cheeks flushed, still smiling, and he fumbles with the ring box for a second before taking Mark’s left hand and sliding a plain, dark silver ring onto Mark’s ring finger. Jackson squeezes Mark’s hand and winks at him, and then the cashier is shyly approaching them, offering them a form to fill out to enter the free catering sweepstakes. 

Jackson takes point on filling out the form while Mark sits across from him in their booth, a bit dazed, nodding in thanks to the few patrons who stop by their table to congratulate them on their way out of the restaurant.

And the whole time he’s filling out the entry form, Jackson never once lets go of Mark’s hand.

*

They don’t really talk about it until a couple of days later, when Jinyoung sends them both an indignant text in their group chat, all in caps, saying, _WHAT THE HELL DID YOU TWO IDIOTS DO WHY ARE YOU IN A BUZZFEED ARTICLE ABOUT COUPLES WHO GOT ENGAGED AT PANERA._

Mark gets the text while he’s in a meeting, and he has to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He and Jackson knew it was only a matter of time before their friends found out about their scheme, and they both expected this kind of reaction from Jinyoung.

Mere seconds later, Mark gets a text from Jackson, separate from the group text: _called it._

Mark glances surreptitiously at the front of the room, making sure he won’t miss anything important, then slides his phone off the table and into his lap to compose his response.

_yes, well done, i owe you barbecue._

They made a bet after the “engagement” on who in their group of friends would be the first to find out. Jackson guessed Jinyoung, Mark put his money on BamBam, and apparently, to Mark’s misfortune, this was the one week that BamBam was not permanently attached to social media.

A new message in the group text, this time from Jaebum: _they did what now_

Jinyoung responds in less than three seconds with a link to the article. Already dreading it, Mark clicks the link and is taken to a Buzzfeed article talking about how couples across the world tried for free wedding catering by proposing in a Panera on Valentine’s Day. Sure enough, about a third of the way through the article, there’s a blurry picture of him and Jackson, mid-embrace. His own face can’t be seen, but Jackson is all smiles, holding him tightly.

Yugyeom, in the group text: _oh my god are you two dating now_

Jackson: _go to sleep_

Yugyeom: _i’m only an hour ahead of you, it’s nowhere near bedtime_

Jackson: _go to sleep anyway_

Jaebum: _jackson why are you and mark engaged_

Jackson: _free panera. did none of you read the article?_

Jinyoung: _i don’t even have words for how stupid this plan is_

Jackson: _no panera for you then_

Jaebum: _mark did you agree to this_

Mark: _unfortunately yes_

Jinyoung: _unbelievable_

Yugyeom: _hyung why_

Jackson: _NO PANERA FOR ANY OF YOU_

BamBam: _wait i didn’t say anything i want panera_

Jackson: _okay only mark-hyung and bam get panera everyone else gets nothing i have to work now stop bothering me_

Jaebum: _i can see you playing tetris_

Jackson: _GOODBYE_

With a sigh, Mark locks his phone and tries to pay attention to the meeting again. He thinks about that article, about the thousands of random people who have probably read it and now assume that he and Jackson are actually in love and engaged. He wonders vaguely whether his parents have found it yet—or worse, been told about it by one of his siblings—so he decides to send his mom a text after the meeting, just to let her know that it’s only a prank and she shouldn’t start planning on Jackson Wang as her son-in-law.

The thought of writing that text makes him feel, bizarrely, a little dejected, which is stupid, because he and Jackson aren’t actually engaged, but he knows that his mom loves Jackson and would be thrilled to have him as a son-in-law. Ah, well. No point in letting her get her hopes up.

After the meeting, Mark picks up his phone to send his mom the text, only to find that Youngjae has finally caught up on their group text and sent a single message: _panera schmanera you know jackson just wanted to propose to mark-hyung_

Mark pauses just inside his office door, staring at the message. It was sent only about a minute earlier, so there are no responses yet, and Mark doesn’t really know what to say. His cheeks feel warm, and he quickly closes his office door behind him, leaning against it and staring at his phone.

Another message comes in, this time from Jinyoung: _obviously_

And then from Jackson: _you guys are the worst i’m leaving this friend group_

Jaebum: _good luck with that panera boy_

Youngjae: _search your feelings you know it to be true_

Mark lowers his phone, his heartbeat loud in his ears. Jackson wanted to propose to him? What the hell did that mean? Were they all just joking around, or did Youngjae and Jinyoung know something that Mark didn’t?

Mark’s phone lights up in his hands, and he glances at the screen. It’s a text from Jackson.

_sorry about them, i knew they’d be weird_

Mark lets out a breathy laugh and replies: _they’re my friends too loser, you can’t take all the credit for them being weird_

_you wanna grab dinner after work?_

Mark stares at the message, and there’s no reason his heart should be beating this quickly, right? It’s just a question, a very normal question that Jackson has asked him multiple times before in the six years they’ve known each other.

But this time it feels different. This time Mark can’t stop thinking about Youngjae’s text, whether joking or not. Nor can he stop thinking about the ring sitting in his coat pocket, nor the way Jackson smiled against his lips when Mark decided to kiss him.

He stares at his phone for a moment, thumbs tapping against the sides of his case, and then he responds: _yes. meet me out front at 5:30?_

_It’s a date_ , Jackson responds, and Mark tries not to think too hard about that. Instead, he opens a text conversation with his mom, and prepares to inform her prematurely that he will not be marrying Jackson Wang anytime soon.

… Probably.

*

A couple of weeks later, there’s a quiet knock on Mark’s office door.

“Yeah?” he calls, not looking away from his computer screen.

The door opens, and Jackson peeks in. “You busy?”

“I’m always busy.” Mark leans back in his chair and swivels towards the door, waving Jackson inside. “What’s up?”

Jackson enters the office and closes the door behind him. He looks strangely crestfallen as he settles into the extra chair beside Mark’s desk.

“We didn’t win,” Jackson says, holding out his phone, which is opened to an email from none other than Panera. Mark can’t read the full message from where he sits, but he can see well enough to make out the generic “We regret to inform you” sentence at the top of the email.

“I’m sorry, dude,” Mark says. Two emotions are at war inside of him: relief, for not having to draw the charade out any further, but also a twinge of disappointment that their efforts came to nothing. “At least we tried.”

“Yeah,” Jackson says, lowering his phone with a sigh. “Ah, well. Thanks for doing that.”

“No problem.” Mark shoots him a wry smile. “Are you here to get your ring back?”

“What?” Jackson blinks. “Oh. No, you can keep that. It’s not super expensive. Think of it as a thank you gift, since I can’t give you free Panera.”

“You could give me a gift card or something.”

Jackson makes a face. “That’s not free, though. That just means I paid for it instead.”

Mark shrugs. “Sounds free to me.”

“Fine, I’ll get you a gift card,” Jackson grumbles, but he’s smiling as he says it.

They lapse into silence, and Mark eventually turns back to his computer screen, pulling up the help desk request he was about to start working on. Jackson makes no move to leave, fiddling with his phone in his lap.

“Hey,” he says, after a minute or so of quiet, “you remember that thing Youngjae said in the group text a while ago?”

“You’ll have to be more specific,” Mark says, although his neck is already starting to feel warm, because he has a suspicion what “thing” Jackson is referring to. “Youngjae says a lot of things in the group text.”

“The thing about how I, uh. How I wanted to propose to you.”

“Oh. That.” Mark steadfastly stares at his monitor, but he’s not reading a single word of the message on the screen. He’s attuned to Jackson’s every movement, every fidget, every nervous bounce of his knee. “Yeah, I remember. Why?”

“Well… he maybe wasn’t entirely off, you know?” Jackson says. He rubs at the back of his neck, looking distinctly uncomfortable. “There might have been… a couple of reasons for me asking you to help me out with this. Like, I knew no one else would be a good fit for the whole con, but I also knew that it would be, um. Easy? I guess? To pretend to get engaged to you. If that makes sense.”

Mark’s hand clenches around the mouse. This is the moment, he knows. This is when he could either brush everything off and let an opportunity pass him by, or try something he’s been thinking about on and off for the past few weeks.

He decides to do the latter.

“It makes sense,” he says, finally turning to look at Jackson. Jackson looks a bit terrified, eyes wide, lips pressed tightly together. He also looks unreasonably adorable, which is a thought that Mark has had before but always brushed away as silly, but now… now, he thinks he might be able to harbor it.

“It was a good kiss, wasn’t it?” Jackson says, quietly, sounding oddly vulnerable, and Mark can’t help but smile.

“It was a really good kiss,” he says.

Jackson beams at him, as brightly as he did that day in Panera when Mark said that yes, he would fake marry him, and it feels natural for Mark to scoot his chair closer to Jackson’s and lean in to kiss Jackson’s smiling lips.

“Oh thank god,” Jackson breathes, and Mark laughs as Jackson’s hands come up to cradle his head, deft fingers sliding into his hair. Jackson deepens the kiss, gently working Mark’s mouth open, and Mark feels tingles run straight from the tip of his spine into his lower abdomen. Jackson’s kisses are just as good as Mark remembers, and he rests his hands on Jackson’s shoulders, squeezing tightly.

“We’re at work,” Mark says, lips brushing against Jackson’s.

“And?” Jackson tilts Mark’s head slightly, pressing in for another open-mouthed kiss, warm and firm and so good that Mark has to fight not to make a noise.

“And this is inappropriate to do in a workplace,” Mark says, even as he presses a light kiss to the corner of Jackson’s mouth. “But I’d be willing to continue it later tonight. If you’re free.”

“I’m so free,” Jackson says, tightening his fingers in Mark’s hair, making Mark shiver. “Very free. The freest I’ve ever been.”

“Good,” Mark says, forcing himself to pull away. “Then I’ll meet you at 5:30 downstairs. Deal?”

Jackson grins at him and gets to his feet, lips pink and eyes bright. “It’s a date,” he says, and this time, Mark knows that it’s true.

*

Jinyoung: _you two are dating now aren’t you_

Jackson: _maybe but we are being very subtle okay_

Jaebum: _there’s literally a picture on the internet of you two making out in a panera, i don’t think that counts as subtle_

Mark: _excuse you we are just hugging in that picture_

Mark: _and we weren’t even dating yet_

BamBam: _technicality_

Yugyeom: _so you ARE dating?_

Mark: _obviously_

Jackson: _SUBTLY_

Youngjae: _oh my god i’m gonna get so much money_

Jackson: _you are all honestly just the worst_

**Author's Note:**

> i can't believe i wrote this in a day.
> 
> also i feel like i should note that this is by no means intended to poke fun at anyone planning to get engaged at Panera on Valentine's Day. if you're doing that, then MAZEL TOV and BEST OF LUCK. Panera is freaking delicious. <3


End file.
